The use of mobile device cameras to capture images and record video content continues to grow as a greater number of applications make use of or allow users to share multimedia content. There are many applications of image processing and image generation that place significant demands on computer processing resources. Two examples are stitching together image frames while a user pans a cell phone to generate a panoramic image, and virtual reality imaging. Both techniques require the processing of multiple, sometimes numerous, images in order to generate a single image product. Methods of efficiently processing or pre-processing image data (captured or rendered) are desirable to reduce the processing power required to perform rapid image processing and reduce visual lag. This is particularly the case for mobile devices, such as smart phones, which may have limited processing and power resources.